The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1887-12-23

| itd'e you yeI reached That point IN your
life where your stock of knowledge seems
to yon pitifully meagre? Then you have
just gotten to where you really begin to
learn. used to think | knew great
deal, and was astonished, as the boys were
at Goldsmith's teacher, that zone small
head could hold SO much But am get
ting bravely over my youthful cgotisni,
and am learning faster than ever before in
my life. And who do you think my
teacher is? That "little man. reared by
tho little woman" of whom the Voice
readers have read, and concerning whom
have gotten SO many kind letters since
told our life-story in these columns.
Now, it does seem strange that little
man who wears short trousers, a sailor
jacket and hat, shonld be teacher of a
grown man who, for years past, has pre-
snmed to teach other grown men by pen
and voice; but it's fact nevertheless, and
| | have formulated it as follows: "a six
yearold boy or & rl can make father a bet
| ter-educated man and mother better-in-
| formed woman
| The way found out how excellent a
teacher my boy was, was when lie began
to come home from school and ask ques-
tions. i on know, of course, that way
| back in the dark ages some empty headed
old fool declared that "children should be
| seen and not heard, and thought that he
| had produced maxim that had in it tho
| concentrated wisdom of the ages from
Solomon to himself And foolish human
ity accepted tho saying, and deliberately
threw away one of its surcst ways of get
ting wisdom, by Theoretically sealing the
mouths of the babes and Stockings.
Well, my boy would come home with a
new desire for knowledge every day, and,
of course, believed, as did, that all that
| was necessary for him to start flowing a
perfect torrent of knowledge was to tap
pater- famiias.
Gather" said the little man one day,
chow is Ohio bonnded?'
Well, it had been so long since had at
tended school that failed to comprehend
that tbs child needed the information for
the morrow's lesson, and replied:
"On the north by water and Kanucks.
| on the south by more water and whiskey,
ON the west by IToosiers, and on the east
by a protective tariff for pig iron." and
laughed to myself, thinking how smart
was.
But next day the little man came home
from school crying; and when asked for
the cause he said:
81 got sent to the foot of my class for
making a fool of myself"
fWhy, how could You have done that,
my boy?" | asked sootlingy.
II bounded Ohio just as You told me
to, he sobbed out
And then he hunted up the atlas and
got tho correct answer without bothering
! his fool of a father, who was taught then
and there that 4 horse joke which an
| audience will take from tie platform, be-
cause they can't help themselves, won't do
| in the practical schoo!-room, where hun
CRY minds are fed on facts and not fancies.
| And hunted up the dear heart and told
| him that if he would honor me with ques-
tions after such an experience | would let
the philosopher answer them and not the
fool, feeling perfectly sure about having
the philosopher, right at hand.
The very next night my lessons began
too ol,n
at his usual hour, could see by his face
that he was ready to tap my reservoir OF
knowledge, and began to swell up with a
sense of the great benefits was about to
confer ON my son and heir.
"Father," said he, "tell me about
George Washington. I've got to have a
little composition about him for Friday"
"Well, my son, Washington once cut
down cherry tree, and
sChestnut,' y cried the boy.
"Not chestnut, but cherry tree"
replied.
'sWell, know all that stuff. Tell me
something about his life, how old he was,
when he first did something for his com
try, and the offices he held and where he
was born and how old he was when he
died, and snch things"
"Certainly. my dear" | replied, beam
ing W it'll pride in my great wisdom. Gen
eral George Washington was born"
81 thought he wasn't General till he
became man. I didn't known he was
born a General" said that small teacher
of mine.
"Well, you are right, my boy; George
Washington was born in--the encyclo-
pndia-"
an pAat?"
81 moan can't tell you the exact date
or place till examine tho encyclopaedia.
And in turning its teeming pages to sat
isfy the desires of tho little man, | ac-
qnircd the first real knowledge of Wash
ington had had since |, too, was one OF
''thoso machines that ask questions "A
boy-and verify tho boy had become
teacher to the man.
And so it went on in those days, and
goes on now. And the questions my boy
asks, while helpful to him, are just as
much so to mo- | never knew why the
stars seemed to tw inkle at night till that
boy wanted to know and came to his
father for the information; and his Ounce